Darius Garland, a 5-star point guard in the 2018 recruiting class, has committed to Vanderbilt.
ESPN recruiting insider Paul Biancardi broke the story via Twitter, with Garland still expected to hold a 3:45 p.m. EST commitment ceremony.
Five star prospect Darius Garland tells ESPN he is headed to Vanderbilt. He is the highest rated recruit for the Commodores in the ESPN era of player rankings. https://t.co/A7CaNSm6iP
— Paul Biancardi (@PaulBiancardi) November 13, 2017
Garland is rated as the No. 11 overall player in ESPN’s Top 100 for the 2018 class.
He was also considering Indiana, Kentucky, and UCLA.
The Commodores are also a finalist for No. 5 Romeo Langford and No. 6 Simi Shittu.
Lovell’s Analysis
While it’s sad to see a news outlet break this story ahead of a high school player’s big moment, Garland’s commitment is simply a massive step forward for Vanderbilt basketball.
The 6-2 point guard is the highest-ranked recruit that the Commodores have ever landed, and there’s a good chance that either Langford or Shittu could hold that honor in the near future.
With Vandy already loaded with athletic young guards in Payton Willis, Saben Lee, and Max Evans, the addition of Garland gives the Commodores a dangerous backcourt heading into 2018.
But there’s no doubt that Garland is expected to be the driving force of that team due to his tremendous abilities as a natural point guard.
He can attack the rim, score from outside, and facilitate in an elite manner.
Those are all qualities that will certainly aid Drew in continuing to push Vanderbilt back near the top of the SEC ladder.
And should Langford and/or Shittu decide to join Garland, we could be entering an unprecedented era for the Vandy program.